novelraw Chapter 326: Nadia
Chapter 326: Nadia
The violent tropical thunderstorm that had nearly flooded all of Chinatown finally subsided at the darkest hour of the night.
Water gushed along the road surface, flowing into the gutters. The suffocating scent of blood in the air, though diluted considerably by the rain, still clung stubbornly to the shattered lintel of Gu Ji Zhai.
Lin Jie and his two companions stood in the shadows at the mouth of the alley, waterproof oilcloth packs on their backs. They had just cleaned the blood off themselves and disposed of any traces that might attract the attention of the colonial police.
Now, they looked like three disheveled travelers who had lost their way in the downpour.
A heavy, rhythmic clatter of hooves shattered the post-rain silence.
Several dim yellow hurricane lanterns swayed into view at the far end of the alleyway. Their halos dispersed the thick, damp air, illuminating a convoy of people and horses moving in silence.
It was a procession escorted by over a dozen sturdy men dressed in black short jackets, their waists bulging conspicuously, clearly concealing weapons. At the center of the convoy was a black four-wheel carriage bearing no insignia.
"The people we're waiting for are here."
Lin Jie said in a low voice, removing his hand from the grip of the [Serene Heart] tucked inside his coat.
The carriage came to a steady stop about ten meters away. The door was pushed open from the inside by a hand wearing a jade ring. As a somewhat pungent smell of pipe tobacco wafted out, Su Sanniang's face, exuding an aura of fierce intensity, appeared in the lamplight.She first swept her gaze over the wide-open door of Gu Ji Zhai and the vaguely visible chaos inside. A flash of understanding, as if she had expected it, passed through her long, narrow phoenix eyes. Then, she turned her attention to Lin Jie's trio, who were unharmed and ready to go.
"I knew those mad dogs who practice evil arts have sharper noses than anyone."
Su Sanniang tapped her long tobacco pipe, a few sparks falling onto the damp ground with a faint sizzle. "It seems the new clothes I gave you have already seen blood."
"A very useful garment."
Lin Jie tugged at the high collar of the [Black Mercury]. This trench coat had not only slipped away several fatal slashes for him during the fierce battle but hadn't even retained a single stain from the splattered filth and blood. "If not for it, I might still be lying inside."
"Enough chatter. Get in the carriage."
Su Sanniang stepped aside to make room for them. "This place will soon become more bustling than a wet market. Those British patrolmen may play deaf and dumb after taking bribes, but with so many dead, someone will have to come clean up."
The interior of the carriage was unexpectedly spacious and comfortable. Thick velvet cushions and blackout curtains hanging over the windows isolated everything from the outside world.
The rumbling sound of wheels rolling over the waterlogged road was particularly distinct in the quiet night. The convoy turned around and headed towards a discreet private mooring downstream on the Singapore River.
"You're going to Borneo."
Su Sanniang leaned back on the cushions, resting with her eyes closed. "That's a place you three outsiders absolutely cannot survive in alone, even if you have foreign guns and cannons, even if you can cut down those Death Soldiers who've practiced hard Qigong like melons."
"Because the enemies there aren't just the Black Lotus, but also that damned rainforest itself."
Lin Jie picked up the thread. "That's precisely why we need your help."
"This old bones of mine can't withstand that kind of hardship."
Su Sanniang opened her eyes and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "But I've found you a guide who might be the best in the entire South Seas."
"Where is she?"
Julian adjusted his glasses and asked. As a scholar, he understood deeply that a guide familiar with the local environment was even more valuable to an expedition than a powerful Grotesque Armament.
"Right ahead."
The carriage slowly came to a stop.
This was an abandoned fishing village on a desolate beach at Pasir Panjang. A few dilapidated sampans were stranded in the black mud, and several rickety stilt houses stood at the edge of the mangrove forest.
The sea wind whistled through the dead trunks, sounding like ghostly wails. There were no lights here, only the occasional flashing beacon light on the distant sea surface barely outlining the surrounding contours.
Beneath one of the stilt houses, a figure was squatting in the darkness, sharpening a knife.
Su Sanniang led the group out of the carriage. She stopped about five or six meters away from the figure and coughed.
The figure immediately stopped moving.
Like a startled leopard in the jungle, the figure completed a series of actions in an instant: standing up, turning around, and drawing a blade.
By the light of the carriage driver's kerosene lamp, Lin Jie finally got a clear look at the person who was about to become their guide.
It was an extremely young woman.
Her skin had the deep bronze tone characteristic of long-term exposure to the tropical sun.
Her stature wasn't particularly tall, but every muscle was clearly defined and brimming with astonishing explosive power. She wore a simple batik sarong and a form-fitting vest sewn from some kind of animal skin, revealing large areas of skin covered in intricate blue-black tattoos.
Those tattoos were not decorative patterns for aesthetics.
Lin Jie recognized the style of those patterns. They were the distinctive totemic tattoos belonging to the most fierce and mysterious primitive tribe deep in Borneo—the Dayak.
The spiral lines extending from her neck down to the backs of her hands represented the protection of some guardian deity. The two blooming black flowers on her shoulders symbolized her noble and special bloodline status within the tribe.
Her eyes were large, with distinct whites and pupils, the corners slightly upturned.
But there was no trace of the softness or shyness belonging to women in civilized society within them. Only a gaze as sharp as an eagle's, vigilant and full of wildness.
Hanging at her waist was a uniquely shaped parang with a slightly curved blade and a noticeably widened tip. On her back, she carried a long blowgun tube made of some kind of dark, hard wood.
"Nadia."
Su Sanniang called out her name. "This is the person you're looking for."
The girl named Nadia swept her cold gaze over Lin Jie's trio, finally settling on the [Silencer]—the reforged version of [Withered Cicada]—at Lin Jie's waist.
"This is the one who wants to challenge the 'Black Ghosts'?"
Her voice carried a heavy accent. The "Black Ghosts" in her mouth were a derogatory term for the black-clad Cultists of the Black Lotus Sect.
"That's right."
Su Sanniang nodded. "They are going to the Heart of the World, to that Garden of Eden occupied by those madmen."
Nadia frowned. She took two steps forward, the bone ornaments on her body clattering crisply with her movement.
As if to confirm something, she leaned in close and sniffed.
"You smell of blood."
She looked up into Lin Jie's eyes. "A lot of blood. Fresh blood. Did you kill their people?"
"Killed twelve."
Lin Jie replied calmly, not shying away from the girl's aggressive gaze. "And one captive told me what they were doing there."
Nadia's pupils contracted slightly. Then, she sheathed the parang that was still in her hand.
"I am Nadia."
She introduced herself simply. "I was once the eldest daughter of the longhouse upstream on the Kayan River. Now, I am a person without a home. Since you killed Black Ghosts, then we are friends."
The reasoning was simple and direct.
"I am Lin Jie."
Lin Jie extended his hand. "These two are my companions, Julian and Evelyn."
Nadia did not shake Lin Jie's hand; such etiquette did not exist in her culture.
She gave a slight nod, then turned and walked towards the stilt house.
"Come inside. The map is in there."
The interior of the stilt house was shockingly simple.
Apart from a few animal skins spread on the floor and various cold weapons hanging on the walls, there was almost no furniture.
A charcoal fire burned in the center of the room, with an iron pot resting on it, boiling some kind of soup that emitted a bitter herbal smell.
When Evelyn entered the room, she couldn't help but frown.
As a woman who grew up in New York, received a modern scientific education, and had some degree of fastidiousness, this environment was undoubtedly a huge challenge for her.
The floor was not only littered with various animal furs and bones, but several strings of dried... lizards and bats hung in the corners.
But what truly made her uncomfortable, even somewhat fearful, was the necklace hanging around Nadia's chest.
It was a cord woven from some unknown plant fiber, strung with an irregularly shaped piece of white bone, its surface worn smooth and warm.
Judging from the shape and joint characteristics of that bone, Evelyn was almost certain it was a section of a human finger bone.
"Good heavens..."
Evelyn instinctively took a step back, her hand trembling slightly as she pointed at the ornament. "You... what is that around your neck?"
Nadia noticed Evelyn's horrified gaze. She looked down at the bone on her chest, her face revealing an utterly natural, even somewhat sacred expression.
"This is Father's thumb."
She gently stroked the finger bone with her hand, her tone as calm as if introducing an ordinary family heirloom.
"The night the Black Ghosts stormed the longhouse, Father died under their blades covering my escape. I couldn't take his body, only had time to cut off this finger."
"He is right here."
Nadia pointed to her heart. "His soul will guide me to find the way in the jungle, and will protect me from evil spirits."
"That's too... too barbaric."
Evelyn couldn't help but say. Although she felt sympathy for the girl's plight, this act of using human remains as a talisman still severely clashed with her modern understanding of hygiene and ethics. "Do you know how many bacteria corpses carry? Such things should be buried or cremated, not worn around the neck."
Nadia jerked her head up, her eyes turning cold as steel.
"What did you say?"
Her hand went back to the hilt of her parang. "This is the tradition of our Dayak people, the highest respect for ancestors and heroic spirits. You white people not only stole our land, now you even want to insult our souls?"
The atmosphere became tense as drawn swords in an instant.
Evelyn was startled by the sudden burst of killing intent from Nadia. Only then did she realize how sharp and arrogant her comment, made from a "civilized" perspective, must have sounded to this exiled person who had lost her home.
"Enough."
Lin Jie's voice cut in at the right moment. He stepped directly between the two, blocking the clashing gazes.
"Evelyn, apologize."
Lin Jie turned to look at Evelyn, his tone stern. "This is not New York, nor is it your laboratory. Here, she is the guide. She is the master here. Respecting her beliefs and customs is a prerequisite for us to walk out of that rainforest alive."
Evelyn was taken aback. She looked at Lin Jie's unyielding gaze, then at Nadia's furious face, and finally lowered her head.
"I'm sorry... I meant no harm."
She said softly. "I'm just... not used to it."
Lin Jie then turned to Nadia.
"She is a scientist who only believes in microscopes and electricity. She doesn't understand the rules of the jungle, and she didn't mean to insult your father."
Lin Jie explained. "In this team, everyone has their own expertise and beliefs. She can fix your radio, and she can create weapons that can electrocute a water buffalo in an instant. We need her skills, just as we need your blade and your eyes."
Nadia looked at Lin Jie, then glanced at Evelyn, who, though frightened, still stood there stubbornly.
She took a deep breath, and that beast-like killing intent slowly receded.
"In the rainforest, there aren't that many rules."
Nadia said coldly. "There are only the living and the dead. If you don't want to become the latter, learn to shut up and observe."
The conflict born from cultural differences temporarily subsided under Lin Jie's mediation. Although a rift still existed between the two, they had at least reached a tacit understanding of temporary tolerance for a common goal.
"The map."
Lin Jie didn't want to dwell on this issue further and cut straight to the point.
Nadia rummaged through the pile of animal skins and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment. She spread it open on the rough wooden table and, by the firelight, pointed at the winding, twisting lines.
It was an incredibly detailed map of Borneo's inland river system, one that could not be found in any official institution of this era.
It not only marked the courses of the major rivers but also used plant pigments of different colors to indicate seasonal streams that only appeared during the rainy season, hidden swamp areas, and the territorial ranges of various tribes.
Julian immediately leaned over. His scholarly eyes greedily scanned the map, exclaiming in awe repeatedly.
"This is simply priceless."
Julian pointed to the area marked in red at the center of the map. "The Dutch maps are a complete blank here, yet your map actually notes the altitude and vegetation types."
"These are paths our people walked with their feet."
Nadia paid no mind to Julian's praise. Her finger slid along the coastline at the edge of the map, moving inland. "The Black Lotus Sect controls the mouth of the Rajang River. They've set up artillery batteries and minefields there. Any large ship trying to enter from the front will be sunk."
She drew a large 'X' at the river mouth on the map.
"Our Messenger draws too much water; it really can't get in there."
Lin Jie nodded. "And it's too conspicuous a target."
"Not only that."
Nadia continued. "They've also planted eyes at several major docks along the coast. The moment you show your faces, the news will reach their ears immediately."
"Then how do we get in?" Evelyn asked.
"There is a route."
Nadia's finger left the main channel and moved to an area on the map that looked like a muddy swamp.
It was an extremely vast and complex mangrove swamp area located thirty kilometers south of the Rajang River estuary.
"This place is called 'Crocodile Road'."
Nadia's voice turned somewhat eerie.
"It's a natural waterway hidden within the mangrove maze. The water is shallow, but sufficient for sampans with shallow drafts to pass through. It directly connects to the midstream tributaries of the Rajang River, perfectly bypassing all the defensive lines and blockades the Black Lotus Sect has set up at the estuary."
"Sounds like a perfect smuggling route."
Julian adjusted his glasses. "If it's so perfect, why hasn't the Black Lotus Sect blocked it off?"
"Because that place doesn't need blocking."
Nadia looked up at the group, a chilling, ghastly smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.
"That waterway is home to tens of thousands of saltwater crocodiles. They can easily crush a small boat. Moreover, the tidal changes there are extremely complex. Without an experienced guide to lead the way, once the tide recedes, the boat will be stranded in the mud. Then you'll become either a snack for the crocodiles or a feast for the swarms of poisonous mosquitoes."
"It's a death road that only our Dayak hunters dare to take."
"And it's the only backdoor to the 'Garden of Eden'."
A brief silence fell in the room.
Everyone's mind conjured an image: in the dark, damp mangrove maze filled with miasma and the stench of decay, countless pairs of cold yellow eyes lurked beneath the turbid water surface, waiting for prey.
"We'll take this route."
Lin Jie broke the silence, his voice without a trace of hesitation.
"The Messenger will stay in international waters as a support and alternate evacuation point. We'll switch to a local sampan and infiltrate via Crocodile Road."
He looked at Nadia.
"Can you take us through?"
Nadia looked at this man with determined eyes. She could smell no fear on him, only a calmness and resolve more dangerous than the fiercest crocodile.
"If you're not afraid of death."
Nadia gripped the parang at her waist. "I can take you through."
"Good."
Lin Jie turned to look at Julian and Evelyn.
"Sort out the equipment. Leave behind anything unnecessary. Bring plenty of mosquito repellent, food, and ammunition. Evelyn, streamline those heavy instruments of yours too. We don't need those bulky things."
"Understood."
Evelyn, though her face was somewhat pale, nodded firmly.
"Su Sanniang."
Lin Jie finally looked at the tailor who had been leaning against the doorway smoking.
"The boat will be your responsibility. We need the sturdiest, most inconspicuous local boat."
Su Sanniang blew out a smoke ring, her gaze complex as she looked at these reckless young people.
"The boat has been ready for you for a while now. It's on the beach outside."
She paused, seeming to want to say some words of farewell, but in the end, just waved her hand.
"Get lost. Don't die out there and embarrass me."
...
Four o'clock in the morning.
It was the darkest hour of the day.
A thick morning mist hung over the sea, visibility less than ten meters.
Lin Jie and the other three boarded the modified wooden longboat.
The hull was painted a gray-green color for easy concealment. A silenced steam engine was installed at the stern.
Nadia sat at the bow, holding a long bamboo pole responsible for probing the way.
Lin Jie took the helm.
Julian and Evelyn sat in the middle of the boat, guarding a pile of streamlined but still heavy supply crates.
As the engine emitted a low hum, the small boat slowly left the desolate beach.
It cut silently into the vast expanse of mist.
The sound of waves gradually faded, replaced by the peculiar silence of the mangroves.
Lin Jie gripped the helm, his gaze piercing through the mist, fixed intently on the unknown dark waters ahead.
His [Black Mercury] trench coat gleamed faintly in the damp fog. The [Serene Heart] was holstered within easy reach.
They had already left the edge of the civilized world.
Ahead lay the so-called green hell.
The hunting ground of crocodiles.
"Welcome to Borneo."
Nadia's voice drifted through the mist.